Just got an Apple Powerbook G4 a couple of weeks ago. Now I realize that this has nothing to do with China or Beijing a Chef…or does it?…

         .......I wish I has a MAC..WAAAA!!     

I did so much research before purchasing my laptop that the powerbook seemed like a logical choice. Sure, it has more power than I’ll ever need and is so thin and light I will probably loose it somewhere but it was worth the money.

The reason for my new glorious purchase? I was finally resolved my issues will Dell inc. regarding the Smartstep 250N I purchased over 4 years ago. Take it from me there is nothing smart about buying a smartstep…what a crap box.  After spending 3000cnd on what was advertised as the best thing on the market (4 years ago) I received it in fall of 2001 and was disappointed from the beginning. It wasn’t until that I googled “smartstep 250N” that I found out that this was not an isolated case. All over North America I found people with the exact same problems as me. Over heating, sudden shut downs and faulty dvd-rom all echo throughout the Internet signifying the negligence of Dell.

It took dozens of phone calls to Hong Kong, Shanghai, the Us, Canada and even Malaysia before I was finally told that they would not do anything for me. So did I give up? NO NO NO NO!

I emailed the better business bureau of Canada once and only once, and before I knew it I had Dell Canada wondering what they could do for me…man what a political shit show. Dell customer support my ass.

Any way the reason for this long-winded and no doubt chaotic blog is to bring light to the others that might come across this and hopefully find some assistance. Below are some links to a few forums about this issue, including a class action suit against Dell Canada.

ME.

P.S. Buy your powerbook in Hong Kong and save around $600usd..thats the China connection...17%sales tax here!

online forum

http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/index.php?fn=view_thread&t=310675&p=2

BBB of canada

www.bbb.org

Email me if you like and I'll give my 2 cents into my problems

Cooking a bird today…..

Today…

Been at work since 1pm prepping and roasting our little friend Mr. Turkey. Not much going on but I have to say the toasted smell of juicy poultry has perfumed my kitchen nicely. I think that one of my fondest memories of all time is the turkey roast that we had twice a year back home. Whether it was thanksgiving or Xmas…always fun to get involved.

Back in my day (never though I would say that so soon in life) my bro, whom is also a Chef, and I used to take turns on the workload. Yes working in a professional kitchen will teach you many things, among them… team work. At the same time the unavoidable and relentless partying that always ensued the night before these big meals seemed to bring my brother and to an understanding…and the perfection of something I like to call tag-team cooking.

The night before….

As most Chefs would agree we work hard. I mean we work hard whether it’s busy season or not. Standing in a hot furnace chopping, tasting and always moving. To perform and show interest to our guest while they are living it up and were not is something that takes time to adjust to, but it must be done. Xmas is probably the most frustrating and mentally draining time of the year. I never met a Chef whom didn’t look at there position in life at one point or another and say” How long can I keep this up? How many relationships must fall victim to my passion…” and possibly most importantly” When is it OUR time to celebrate?” That being said the last night of the x-mas season, that night that caps of the 2 months of hell, filled with pain headache and a lot of pride swallowing, leads up to the biggest celebration involving the most genuinely down to earth and simple laborers that one could ever meet. That all said the fun doesn’t burn out until the wee hours of the morning.

The day of….”on pick up”

By 8am dad picks us up. He’s is so excited that the family is in town he starts screaming and playfully punching at use, of course he also knows that were running on 2 hours sleep and 2many “barley sandwiches”…he gets a kick outta making us pay. By the time we arrive at his place we have both fell asleep in the car then I realize that the dinner for 30 in 5 hours is going to be another interesting story for the books or Xanga as the case may be.

I get the first shift, put the turkey in the oven; wash and trim the veg, make the pumpkin pies and prep the stuffing. By the time noon finally reaches I tag the sleeping chef and tell him not to burn my prize bird and to also wake me up in time for dinner.

Sure as the sun will rise, by the time 5pm comes around, the family is slowly elevating there gentle soft conversation in to what can only be described as a 747 taking of in our living room….. they need to eat.

Inside the steamed up windows the smell of turkey, wine the fragrance of cloves from the pumpkin pie and my brothers stuffing is being passed about. We realize that even after the hard season we had, all the hours we worked and the friends that we missed it was worth it. Seeing our simple and often over looked gift of cooking allows us to at least celebrate every time we see the smiles on our customers face..and the family’s as well.

Since I moved to China I have missed these times dearly,

Turkey Chef.

eprops for my bro.